Shipwrecked
by N.S WAND
Summary: It's either we finish them or they'll finish us!" "...Those ships never come back." A new outtake influenced by a very short sentence in the beginning of the movie. I'm not very good with summaries... AU. HICCSTRID.
1. Chapter 1

**Movie starts after the scene where Hiccup has to sneak into the village after getting stuck with toothless and Astrid almost finds them. It's about 40 minutes into the movie.**

**Sup' people. Just a couple of things before you start reading. First thing is that I'm NOT native to English. Which obviously means some grammar and spelling mistakes here and there... If you see any just let me know and I'll fix them =) Second thing is I'm going to try and update this weekly. I don't write very fast but I have a few chapters I've already prewritten. By the way- nagging me to release chapters sooner works. Feel free to do so. **

**So... Umm... Just to be extra clear about this: I don't own HTTYD. Wish I did though...**

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**Prologue**

"Either we finish them or they'll finish us!" reflecting back on his words, Stoick now realized that there was a third option. And that option was now throwing its wrath in the Vikings' faces.

the journey was supposed to take only two weeks, but on the third day of the second week the unfortunate group of Vikings came across something they could not fend against; the storm.

This storm was unregularly tense, even for a storm at deep sea; small hurricanes were blowing, kissing the surface of the water, heavy rain was falling endlessly from above while thunder rumbled, shaking the world and deafening ears. The flashes of lightning were dancing frivolously, almost blinding those who dared look up to them.

the winds were blowing so strong that grown men- Viking men- were struggling to hold on to their footing on top the slippery decks. In one word this could be described as chaos; a never seizing storm, sent by the Nord gods to rip apart the sails and dance across the seas.

The destruction was almost beautiful to the eyes of the war loving Vikings. although it's beauty was somewhat clouded by the creeping fear that came as their ships, one after another, were swallowed whole by that same storm.

**Chapter 1**

If Hiccup had to describe Berk in one word, he'd probably choose 'sturdy'. The village stood at the same small island for the last seven generation. Every single building was new though… that, he'd have to blame on the pests. You see, while other villages had mice, or stray cats or mosquitos, they- had dragons. Fire breathing dragons. So yeah- old village, lots of new houses!

So why not leave, one would ask. Well, let's just say that Vikings have… stubbornness issues. Hiccup would know, his father was the most stubborn one of all. The most Viking one of all. His father was Stoick the vast- the chief of the hooligan tribe.

While most Viking kids would be happy with their share, being the hero chief's son, Hiccup was not. And why, you'd ask? Putting it bluntly- expectations.

Hiccup swore that expectations would be the death of him. First, there was the village. They wanted him to be like his father- strong and brave and a born chief that could lead them all. When they found out that what he was could not even compare with his father, the downfall was hard.

He grew up as Stoick's son but as time went on, slowly, it changed into 'Hiccup the useless'.

And then there was his father. Now, his father didn't want much of him and didn't ask for much, but he expected Hiccup to be a strong heir, a leader, a warrior too and a dragon killer, someone who would not put him to shame.

Growing up, Hiccup wanted to be those things, badly. But lately that had changed. Due to some reasons, he found out that he was not those things and did not want to be those things. Those things were a contradiction with who he was. He, who committed the worst crime a Viking can commit; befriending the enemy- a dragon. And not just any dragon but a night fury at that, the most feared and hated species of all.

Hiccup shot toothless down almost two weeks ago, by sheer luck during a raid and injured his tail fin. When he went to kill the black, sleek beast, he found himself incapable of doing so and freed the dragon instead. He later came back to look the dragon up, wondering why it didn't kill him when he let it go. Because, as Gobber had told them during dragon training on that first session, a dragon will always go for the kill.

Which brings up the subject of dragon training. His father decided that Hiccup was finally old enough for it and singed him up. Hiccup tried to protest, of course, but then again, as mentioned before, his father was the most stubborn one out of all of the Vikings on the island. Or possibly on the archipelago?

And that brings us back to the expectations. Hiccup knew that the village had given up on him long ago. But his father hadn't. Putting him up for dragon training had proven it. And now Hiccup was going to let his father down as well.

Hiccup really didn't want to see he's father's disappointed expression when he finds out that his son can't kill a dragon and was using tricks in the training ring.

Hiccup shook out the depressing thoughts and turned his gaze to the night sky, delaying having to go to bed.

There was a slight chill in the air, accompanied by the scent of storm. In the far distance, Hiccup could notice a blanket of heavy, gray storm clouds.

It was alright though, as storms that far off, as big as they might be, tended to vanish completely or at least exhaust themselves greatly before reaching the Berkian shore.

Not paying much attention to the far off storm Hiccup dragged himself back into his house and up the stairs, collapsed on the bed and carried on to a dreamless sleep.

xxx

It's been two weeks since Stoick left and Hiccup knew that his father was expected back home soon. But honestly, as much as Hiccup loved his father, with all that's been going on with Toothless, Hiccup hoped that somehow his father would end up being delayed.

That impending return was exactly why Hiccup decided to use the last opportunity that he may have in a long time to spend the day with Toothless. Also, seeing it as the most probable chance to try something new, he decided to take Toothless on a flight test.

Of course he ended up crushing into a bunch of stone columns and taking a free fall after losing his cheat sheet. But seeing as in the end he managed to pull himself together and pull off a bunch of amazing stunts while getting out of the mess without a scratch, he considered the flight test a success.

Also, Hiccup thought as he leaned on Toothless and watched the sunset, the free fall might not have been all that bad if he had planned it in advance. He could still feel the adrenaline rushing through his veins and pumping blood through his heart. He could still hear its hard pounding accelerating as they got closer and closer to sea level. And that sweet relief as he and Toothless connected again. He would definitely have to try that again. After taking some safety measures and improving his flying skills of course.

Leaning on Toothless and listening to his new best friend's deep breaths, Hiccup allowed his thoughts to wonder. He thought about dragon training, about new inventions, about those in his age group, his father… Astrid… and the village in general.

All he has ever asked for was a chance. A chance to be heard, a chance to be noticed (in a good way…), a chance to prove himself. On the isle of Berk, in all of his 15 years of existence he had never gotten that chance. Or should he say- never managed to bring such a chance into existence.

That is until he managed to miraculously shoot a Night Fury out of the sky by sheer luck. But even then he did not get the chance to speak out and explain what had happened. No one would listen.

Sitting down with said night-fury after their first successful flight and watching the sunset, Hiccup was, for once, glad that he was not given a chance. If he was given a chance than Toothless might have been dead right now. Hiccup may have only known Toothless for two weeks but he already could not stand the thought of being separated from his newly acquired best friend.

On top of that he would have never found out about the true potential of dragons. Truly those vile creatures couldn't be more like huge, scaled, fire breathing cats than anything else.

But within all the excitement and happiness those thoughts brought him, there was a speck of fear. His father was due home today or tomorrow. Actually he might have already arrived to Berk, and if his father somehow found out about Toothless… he didn't really want to think about it.

For now, Hiccup took comfort in the hot breathing black lump that was resting against his back. Even the dragon's presence alone had a positive effect on him; around Toothless, Hiccup was more confident, freer, more sarcastic, less reserved. For the first time in his life, he felt like he could actually start to like himself. And it was all thanks to Toothless.

It didn't matter if he had to lie to his father, Hiccup decided. It didn't matter if he had to lie to Gobber. It didn't even matter if he had to lie and deceive his entire village, not if it meant keeping Toothless safe.

"I'll always protect you buddy." Hiccup told his dragon. The small purr returned to him kept a promise of the dragon doing the same.

His line of thought was cut short though, as a small group of terrible terrors closed in on Toothless and him, sending Hiccup into defense mode. Even if Toothless was friendly it did not by any chance mean that all dragons were friendly. Or reasonable for that matter. You never know what a hungry dragon might do.

Toothless growled softly and pulled his pile of fish closer and Hiccup could fill the soft rumble emitting from him and running up his back.

But much to Hiccup's surprise the terrors did not attack. They moved in cautiously, trying their luck in steeling some fish from Toothless' pile, none were successful. Although one did almost make it but ended up with one of Toothless' plasma blasts down his throat instead of a fish.

It seemed that dragons were not very fire-proof on the inside, Hiccup noted with mild interest as he threw the poor dragon a small fish.

And then the small dragon did a very small thing, but that small thing triggered a very big realization within Hiccup. The small dragon went up to Hiccup and leaned against him. That kind of action would be perfectly normal... for a cat. Not a devious dragon.

And that was when it hit Hiccup. Everything Vikings knew about dragons was wrong. And only he knew the truth.

xxx

It was late when Hiccup returned to the village so the relatively small amount of people out of their homes at night was nothing odd. It was even later when Hiccup left his workshop in the forge after contemplating for hours. But it was only when Hiccup made it back to his house and went to bed that it occurred to him that his father wasn't back yet. Hiccup was not alarmed though, it just meant that his father will be back tomorrow, for now at least he'll have one extra day to spend with Toothless without having to worry about his father finding out.

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**Hope you enjoyed =)**

**I appreciate reviews... Just saying...**

**N S Wand**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello fellow readers! Firstly I would like to thank all of you who followed, favorited or reviewed my story. It really meant a lot to me =) **

**So I hereby present you to the second chapter of 'Shipwrecked'. I know I said I'm going to update weekly but I decided to post this chapter up a little sooner. Until the fourth chapter the plot's going to pretty much stick to the movie, but bear with me… so… umm yeah, you can read now.**

**I own nothing. NOTHING!**

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**Chapter 2****\- Gently**

When the extra day turned into extra three, Hiccup started to worry. The entire village was on edge, many good Vikings were sent out on the expedition and none of the ships came back yet. That meant that right now Berk was completely defenseless against the dragons. Sure, new recruits were all good and well but nothing could compare to the experienced, grown-up warriors of Berk. But no one was _really_ worried yet, it wasn't rare for searches for Helheim's gate to grow longer than anticipated, and dragon raids did tend to come slightly apart from each other, but then again, the village was left extremely low on defense when those expeditions were taking place.

Hiccup chose to spend most of his time with Toothless. They mostly just went flying and Hiccup loved it. That frightening freefall on their first flying attempt had now turned into a sort of a thrill; every now and then Hiccup will let himself fall off Toothless' back and Toothless would dive to catch him. Hiccup liked to think of it as a crazy trust exercise.

And the exercise was working, it seemed, as Hiccup was not dead yet.

Xxx

But on the next day Hiccup was not with Toothless, nor were the Vikings' minds filled with worries. The Vikings were actually busy shouting, whistling and cheering at the teens trying to take down the dragon below.

On that day the arena fight hosted, yet again, the Gronckle. This was actually the third time and while the first was horrific for Hiccup the second ended up proving much better. Rubbing dragon nip on dragons did prove to calm them down.

So this time when Astrid declared her kill and started going for it, the dragon that did not feel like cooperating with Astrid's plan to stick an axe up its throat, decided to go to Hiccup... and lay defenselessly on the ground.

"No!" Astrid couldn't contain her anger, or was it frustration? "You son of a half-troll… bread eating munchkin… bucket!" was she even making sense anymore?

"So… later…" the 'son of a half-troll' tried to casually leave the arena in a hurry as he usually did after dragon training was over.

"Oooh no, not so fast." Gobber grabbed Hiccup by his collar and stopped him in his tracks.

Hiccup tried to move out again "I'm kinda late for..."

"What?! Late for what exactly?" Astrid axe was millimeters from his throat, her eyes threatening to kill.

'Damn she can be scary sometimes…' Hiccup thought to himself as Astrid's furious gaze froze him over. The sharp metal pressed against his throat didn't help his nerves much either.

"Alright, alright! Shut your yaps!" Gobber called out and separated the two "the elder has something to say"

The elder looked down at the two with crooked eyes as soft murmurs were heard from the usually loudly screaming crowd. "So she picked one..." "I bet on Hiccup..." "What about Stoick".

"Shut up!" yelled Gobber and as silence fell turned his gaze to the elder.

Gobber positioned himself behind the two candidates. In a few days either Hiccup or Astrid will get the honor of slaying their first dragon in front of the village and will be declared a true Viking. And the choice of whom that'll be, would be decided now. 'If Hiccup is chosen' Gobber thought happily 'Stoick is going to get a stroke when he'll get back. Well, the good kind of stroke.'

There was a certain tension in the air as Gobber placed his right hand- well, hook- above Astrid. Gothi shook her head and a small "Ohh" escaped from the crowd but quickly died down.

Gobber placed his left hand above Hiccup who was shutting his eyes praying to _not _be chosen to slay the dragon. The huge uproar coming from the villagers and Gobber's calls of "oh! You've done it! You've done it, Hiccup!" told him that his prays were not answered.

The crowd's cheers and screams were so loud that Gobber had a problem raising his own extremely loud voice above theirs'.

"Ok just settle down for a bit! There's gonna be enough time to party! As you know the search party is running late and we cannot have the graduation ceremony until our chief is back... so when Stoick and the lot do come back, young Hiccup here" Gobber patted Hiccup a little bit too hard on the shoulder "will have the honor of slaying his first dragon in front of all of us."

'Oh boy' Hiccup thought grimly. Now more than ever he wished for his father to take longer to be back, much much longer.

xxx

Starting the next day, Hiccup did not have to show up for dragon training any longer. Before the final test he'll be given a chance to warm up with one of the arena dragons but that was about it. That meant much more time that he could spend with Toothless. For now he preferred to conveniently ignore the fact that he'll need to kill a dragon in, probably, a very short while. Meeting up with Toothless might take his mind off things. And going out on a flight was sure to relax him. After that he'll think. He still had time.

So that morning Hiccup went to Toothless' cove as always and entered while putting down a basket of raw fish.

"Toothless? Bud? Come out here I brought a special treat for you." Hiccup just finished wiping his hands on his clothes from fish juice when he heard the shriek of a blade being sharpened. He turned around only to catch the sight of Astrid sharpening a very sharp axe. 'Well… fuck.'

"A treat? For who exactly? If you don't mind sharing..."

"A-Astrid" Hiccup swallowed hard, his voice stuck in his throat. "What? What are you doing here?" how come he didn't notice her at all? She was just sitting there, calmly on a boulder. In plain sight!

Hiccup started to back up as Astrid jumped off the boulder and moved towards him, with a very sharp axe in hand.

"I wanna know what's going on. No one just gets as good as you do" Astrid switched the axe to her good hand as she spoke and pointed it out to Hiccup "especially you. Start talking."

"I... I... I..." all Hiccup could do was repeat the word as Astrid move in closer.

"Are you training with someone?" and again with the intimidating axe hand swapping "it better not involve this..." Astrid pulled on his riding harness.

"I-I I know, this looks really bad but you see this is a..." but Hiccup was cut off short as Astrid pulled him down. The sound of a bush moving was coming from someplace near.

Did Hiccup mention that Astrid can be scary already? Cause' she sure can.

Hiccup had to retaliate fast. Astrid could not find out about Toothless! 'Think fast, think fast…'

"I-I know this looks really bad but," there was a snap in the background "you see this is a…" 'Think you idiot! Usually you can't stop thinking and now you can't come up with anything?!'

A rustle. This time Astrid noticed.

'Okay. No time to think!' "You're right! You're right! You're right."

'So let's drop thinking'

"I'm through with the lies… I've been making… outfits." Yeah he was definitely not using his brain any longer…

"So you got me. It's time everyone knew." Astrid was not responding to him so Hiccup decided to grab her hand. "Drag me back. Go ahead, here we go… ow! Why would you do that?" grabbing her hand was, apparently, not all that smart. His hand made a few cracking sounds as Astrid twisted it behind his back and dropped him on the floor.

"Ow! Why would you do that?!"

"That's for the lies" Astrid said as she kicked Hiccup down on the ground. "And that's" now she dropped her 5kg axe handle on his stomach "for everything else!" 'Urrgh! Pain!'

Just then a deep growl sounded from somewhere down the cove.

"Oh, man." Hiccup knew what was coming now.

Astrid first saw only a blurry black figure but within seconds the image turned clear. Her breath caught in her throat she started turning back and dragged Hiccup, who just finished getting back up, down with her to the ground and called "get down!"

The black beast charged towards them. Teeth bared and claws out. Astrid immediately entered fighting mode and rolled herself on her feet and off Hiccup, drew her axe and prepared to strike.

Just then something pushed her back down and threw her axe- her and Hiccup's only life vine- out her hand. It did not help her temper that said "something" was, in fact, Hiccup.

Hiccup acted within a second- which was all that he had, really. He threw himself at Astrid and managed to wrestle the axe out of her grasp and knock her away from being hit by Toothless all in the same move.

His next mission- calm his over protective dragon-friend down.

"No! It's okay!" Hiccup was already off the ground, hand stretched in front of the black dragon. "It's okay. She's a friend."

Toothless turned his roar into a threatening growl and stopped advancing.

Astrid slowly rose to her feet. "You scared him." Hiccup said, speaking to Astrid, who seemed pretty freaked out while holding on to the dragon's muzzle.

"I scared him?" Astrid couldn't quite process what she was seeing but it was slowly closing in. "'who, is him?"

"Uh, Astrid- Toothless." the black dragon 'Toothless' seemed to be pissed. "Toothless- Astrid." Toothless growled. 'Yeah. Defiantly pissed. So much for a smooth introduction.'

Astrid picked herself off the floor without saying a word and ran out of the cove. "Ta ta da… we're dead." Hiccup noted sarcastically. Toothless on the other hand did not seem to mind the situation much and turned to ignore it lazily. "woah woah woah… where do you think you going?"

xxx

It wasn't that Hiccup had expected Astrid to just stay and be all like: 'oh, so you have a pet dragon named Toothless? Sweet… well, actually I always liked dragons so let's all just get along and be friends!'

No, Astrid's behavior had been quite predictable. In fact if it was somebody else that had found Toothless that day and Hiccup saw him being friendly with a dragon, Hiccup didn't imagine he'd have taken it all too well either.

Sure, even if she went and told on him there was no _guarantee_ that anyone will believe her. And even if someone did, they couldn't do anything about it until his father was back.

Nevertheless, Hiccup knew he couldn't afford being found out right now.

If she told they there was a chance they would lock him up or investigate the subject. They might even find Toothless and try to kill him. Hiccup would probably have to leave.

So the best option was to try and find Astrid and convince her to listen to what he has to say. Or at least to not tell the rest of the village.

And so, he and Toothless flew out to a marry chase that will probably lead them to kidnapping a girl. The situation could not be more delightful.** (A\N: YAY!)**

They tracked down Astrid in no time and soon she was screaming as she was carried off by the shoulders and was thrown onto a branch close to the peak of a very high tree. Astrid then found out something new- she liked having solid ground beneath her feet. Preferably directly beneath her feet.

"Hiccup!" she huffed "Get me down from here!"

But now it was his turn not to listen "you have to give me a chance to explain." He said calmly.

"I am not listening to anything you have to say!"

'Nothing new then….' Hiccup sighed mentally "then I won't speak. Just let me show you. Please Astrid."

After considering her current position (high above the ground) Astrid relented.

She pulled herself up to climb onto Toothless. The beast growled at her. 'Now that's reassuring…' she thought

Swatting Hiccups outstretched hand aside to decline his offer to help, she jumped onto Toothless' back. "Now get me down."

"Toothless, down" Hiccups voice had a somewhat of a 'this is not a normal request' tone to it "gently…"

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**Now… important stuff- in the final battle do you think hiccup should still lose his leg, win uninjured or be injured in a different way than the movie? If the third option than how so?**

**I would love to hear your opinion about the story so far. And again- reviews are a great source of motivation! Just a minute of your time can make my day! So… please? My ego's starving.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A new chap! Yay! **

**I don't own HTTYD.**

**Chapter 3- Ups and Downs**

What Hiccup asked was not that difficult it was just to go down. Gently.

But with Toothless' annoyance at Astrid, the dragon did not feel the need to comply with his human friend's simple request.

The useless reptile shot up at full speed, and twisted and spun and turned without any regard to Hiccup's pleas. Only settling down after Astrid found it within her to apologize.

Gliding through the clouds and watching the setting sun give its way to the moon, Hiccup could not believe how different this atmosphere was in comparison to the beginning of this same flight.

Well, even the first part of the flight was somewhat eventful as it is not every day that you can see the tough Astrid screaming in fright and clinging to you like her life depends on it. And as mean as it may sound, Hiccup actually found some satisfaction in seeing the usually fearless girl going through a sort of a panic attack.

But now, with Toothless flying calmly, Astrid seemed to have even taken some joy in the flight. She was stretching her arms wide open and reaching for the clouds, only to find out that those weren't solid.

As their flight took them above Berk Hiccup could feel Astrid's arms wrapping around him and her head leaning on his back. Now, as much as Hiccup enjoyed the sensation of a beautiful girl leaning up against him- he never imagined that it could actually happen. He did imagine it, though.

But right now Hiccup was confused.

Since he was little he was different. Hiccup knew that because people wouldn't stop reminding him of it. And it was because he was so different that he was also treated differently. By everyone. Astrid included. And it wasn't good-different but bad different.

While it was true that the way Astrid had treated him was not that bad in comparison to the rest of the villagers, it was still not good. She would ignore him, look at him like a nuisance (not that he could actually blame her on this one, given his aptitude for unintended distraction.) and sometimes she would even participate in conversations regarding him. And those were never positive. But while all that was true, she never taunted him. She was never really mean to him or laughed at him. She was just overly cold to him, indifferent.

Many would assume (many means Gobber) that Hiccup had a crush on Astrid. Well that would be partially correct. What Hiccup held toward Astrid were not feelings of love but feelings of admiration. Well, that and attraction, Astrid was very attractive to Hiccup.

As for Hiccup's admiration for Astrid, that was something that practically couldn't be avoided… the girl was everything that he yearned to be; she was strong, confident, popular and overall a fighting genius. In the Viking world those were the things that counted- the things that got you recognition. The things that got you respect. The things that Hiccup wanted, that he did not have.

But watching the carefree, calm, warm Astrid, Hiccup felt those emotions slowly beginning to change. He only hoped that her feelings were starting to change too. Maybe by the time this flight was over he'll have another friend on this island.

Maybe even something more.

xxxx

"Alright, I admit it, this is pretty cool." Astrid said after a long silence "It's amazing... he's amazing." Hiccup couldn't agree with her more. She put her hand gently on Toothless' neck and Toothless sent a pleased smile to her.

"So, what now? I mean... Hiccup you were chosen to take the final test. You know you're gonna have to ki..." realizing her own volume and weighting her own words Astrid lowered her volume to a mere whisper "-kill a dragon."

"Don't remind me" Hiccup was already trying his best to forget.

Suddenly Toothless dived down. "Toothless what's happening?"

"Woah! What is it?" a nightmare cut in front of them.

"Get down." Hiccup told Astrid as he himself leaned forward and flattened himself on Toothless' back.

As they continued flying they could make out more and more dragons.

"What's going on?" Astrid asked, panicked.

"I don't know. Toothless, you gotta get us out of here bud" but Toothless just shook his head firmly.

"It looks like they're hauling in their kill." Hiccup noted.

"Uuh, what does that make us?" Hiccup wisely chose to leave that question unanswered.

Toothless sped on between rock columns and towards a small volcano island. As they entered the volcano, looking for a sense of safety, Astrid wrapped her hands around Hiccup. This time though, Hiccup did not have the luxury to contemplate on the subject.

The inside of the volcano was hot and reeked of sulfur. The only lighting came as a red glow from down below, indicating on the presence of lava. Dragons were packed in hundreds on shelved rocks.

All in all, this place gave off an eerie, hellish feeling.

"What my dad wouldn't give to find this." There was no mistaking it. This place was definitely the nest.

Toothless glided to a nearby rock shelf and Hiccup and Astrid watched as the dragons dropped their entire kill into the lava pit. "Well it's satisfying to know that all of our food has been dumped down a hole." Hiccup stated with his usual sarcasm.

"They're not eating any of it." Astrid agreed.

The two then continued watching as a very waddley gronckle proceeded to barf up a small piece of fish down the hole. They watched with wide eyes as the head of an enormous dragon rose out of the pit and swallowed the gronckle whole.

"What is _that_?" Astrid asked a question directed to no one.

The dragons, one by one, backed up into their shelves, hiding away in fright.

Unfortunately of Astrid and Hiccup, the huge dragon seemed to lock onto their scent. Fortunately, Hiccup seemed to have picked on that.

"Alright bud, we have to get out of here." The head started to move towards them "now!" Toothless took up just in time as a mere second later the huge jaws of the dragon clasped around their previous location.

The rest of the dragons, knowing better then to stay in the nest, flew up, blocking the huge dragon's view and enabling Hiccup, Astrid and Toothless to safely make it out.

Hiccup did feel sorry for those that were eaten in the process.

xxx

"No, no... It totally makes sense; it's like a giant beehive. They're the workers and that's their queen! It controls them." Astrid was on a roll as she jumped off Toothless when they finally reached the cove, most of her shock gone by then. "Let's go. We have to let the others know..."

"-No. No! No..." Hiccup felt panic rise up his throat "Not yet. They'll kill Toothless, no... Astrid we have to think this through, carefully."

"Hiccup, we just discovered the dragon's nest! The thing we've been after since Vikings first sailed here. The thing your father is searching for out there right now! And you wanna keep it a secret? To protect your pet dragon, are you serious?"

"Yes." there was no hesitation in his voice and his expression reflected on the graveness that he had put into that single word. So much so that Astrid was taken aback.

Hiccup was serious. While it was true that he had barely known Toothless for two weeks and had only befriended him a little over a week ago it was also true that for Hiccup Toothless was his best friend. His first friend. In those mere two week Toothless had managed to do so much for Hiccup, even if the dragon did not intend to. Toothless gave Hiccup confidence, a peace of mind, strength, comfort, a place to belong to, a friend.

For the first time Hiccup understood what a home meant. A home was where you want to settle down, where you can put your guard down. It was the place you'd want to come back too. Where you can smile from the bottom of your heart.

In all of his 15 years on Berk Hiccup had not once felt that way. Sure, he was attached to Berk; it was the place he was born and raised, the place he spent his all life at. Almost all the people he knew were from Berk and although they were not always the nicest or the best company to be with, they were mostly good people.

But on Berk he never truly felt like he belonged, he almost never smiled or laughed genuinely, he was almost always miserable.

That was why now he was so grateful for Toothless. For everything. That was why he couldn't afford to lose him. Looking into her eyes Hiccup knew that he didn't manage to convey all of that to Astrid with his few words and actions but he saw from the look on her face that she was starting to understand. That she was trying to understand. And just for that he was incredibly thankful.

"Okay." Astrid finally answered, feeling Hiccup's determination and sense of importance about the matter. "Then what do we do?"

Hiccup slouched "Just give me a few days... I'll figure something out."

"Okay."

Her punch literally came out of nowhere "that's for kidnapping me"

Hiccup turned to Toothless with a 'what the heck' look as he rubbed his, now sore arm. Apparently Toothless didn't get this either.

Then he was surprisingly pulled up to Astrid and could feel her lips against his cheek. "And that's for... everything else."

And then Hiccup was left alone staring into thin air. Well not completely alone. Toothless was still there. And he decided that it was just about time to be leaning on Hiccup's shoulder.

"Yo-you... Wha-what are you looking at?" Hiccup asked as he finally took notice to the dragon who was wearing a knowing, and somewhat annoying grin.

Well this day was just full of ups and downs, wasn't it?

**Thank you all for reading =) I hope you enjoyed. I'd love to hear any criticism and suggestions you may have so feel free to share!**

**Till' next week,  
N.S Wand**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello everyone =) Sorry for posting this a day late. But, rejoice! The plot is finally starting to move away from the original! **

**A great thanks to all of you that review, favorite and follow. I read all the reviews and really appreciate them.**

**I own NOTHING!**

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**Chapter 4- A New Friend**

The following day started as usual for Hiccup; he woke up, grabbed a bite, went help gobbler in the smithy and then sneaked out to the cove to meet up with Toothless after having an early lunch.

Never would have he imagined finding Astrid sitting in the cove and petting Toothless with a goofy smile on her face.

As he entered the cove, Toothless went rigid and perked up, also alarming Astrid of a new presence.

It only took a second for Toothless to be on top of him, lapsing around his body, nudging him in the stomach and then lowering his back and shoulders as if telling him he can't wait to go on a flight.

"Settle down buddy. I'll get ready and then we'll get going. For now…" Hiccup dropped the basket he brought with him and fish spilled out. "You can have your lunch." Toothless didn't seem to mind waiting on that flight as he started gobbling down the fish.

"Hey" Astrid said, reminding Hiccup of her presence.

"Hey Astrid. What are you doing here?" Hiccup asked with slight wonder, he didn't really expect her to be waiting for him in the cove.

"Well I was training in the woods not far off here and thought I'll come say hi." Her tone held a slight question to it. As if she was uncertain of her answer and asking for permission to stay.

Hiccup raised his brow, not completely convinced that that was the only reason for her to come. Not only because her axe was nowhere to be seen, which was unusual, but also because she was not flustered in the least. Which either meant she was waiting around for a while or that she had not trained at all.

"Really?" he asked "Is that the only reason?"

"Fine." So there was more to it. "I needed to talk to you. About yesterday…"

"I said I've got it."

"Well, and do you? Because I cannot see what you can possibly do about this situation. That is, if you're not willing to let anyone else know what's going on!" Astrid replied. And Hiccup noticed that she sounded… worried?

He sighed "look, Astrid, I thought about it too and I understood some things."

"Enlighten me then" she said, clearly agitated.

"Okay. But you have to listen through." Hiccup noticed her scowl deepening but went on nevertheless "I'm sure you'll have a lot to say, but if you want to know what I have in mind you'll have to first sit and listen."

Astrid calmed herself down slightly and set down on the boulder. She hunched forward and leaned her head on her hands. Taking a deep breath, she turned her gaze to Hiccup "Alright, I'm listening."

Hiccup swallowed and opened his mouth to speak. "Even if I didn't have Toothless I wouldn't tell the others." He finally said. Seeing that Astrid was going to retaliate he raised his hand to quite her down.

"I do have a reason, you know." She was listening now. "I mean… Did you actually think of what would actually happen if we told everyone…? They'll go after it. And if they do they will die. There's no question about it. A thing that big… it doesn't matter how many swords and hammers and men and catapults you've got it won't even scratch that thing. Telling them about the nest, about this dragon…" Hiccup shook his head "it wouldn't be saving them. It would be giving them all a death sentence. So no… we're not telling."

Astrid closed her eyes and put her head down in defeat, all her anger vanished. "You're right." She said in what was barely a whisper.

There was a long silence between them and the only sound was Toothless' soft coos as he rubbed his head against Hiccup's back, looking a bit worried.

"I was just…" Astrid spoke again and stopped to weight her words carefully "I can't take it… keeping this a secret, it's hard. We know what causes the dragons to raid us, to kill us, and," she gave out a sigh "and I just can't take that there's nothing we can do about it… it's just so frustrating. I feel so… useless."

"Welcome aboard." Hiccup said with a dark grin on his lips.

Astrid sent a small, sad smile back.

"Sooo" Hiccup said trying to take on another, more cheerful, subject. "You do know that I came here to go on a flight."

Hearing the word 'flight' Toothless perked his head. Astrid was smiling fully now.

"Care to come with me?"

xxx

"It's really simple."

"No way Hiccup! Just no!"

"Oh come on… just hear me out." Hiccup's devious smile was stretched to its fullest.

"I'm not listening to anything you have to say!"

"But it would be so much fun!"

Toothless cooed in agreement.

"How is us jumping off of Toothless to our deaths fun? No way in hell!"

"Come on Astrid, I've done this before… besides, it's not jumping off Toothless to our death, it's free falling till you're close to the ground and then letting us catch you." Hiccup smiled at her as if to stress his point.

"What's the difference?!"

Hiccup turned to explain once again.

"Ugh, never mind. You're crazy…"

"Guilty." Hiccup was still smiling. "But it really is fun. Unless…" Hiccup took the risk "you're afraid of heights?"

Astrid paled.

"Ha! You are! I knew it!"

"Shut up!" she punched him in the arm "and don't you dare tell anyone!"

Hiccup grinned wildly in amusement.

"And it's not weird to like having your feet on solid ground." Astrid muttered quietly.

"Well you're in the air right now and you're fine…" Hiccup suggested, chuckling.

"Yes, but we're sitting on Toothless. This is nothing like freefalling." She did have a point…

"Fine." Hiccup finally gave up "but you'll be missing out on all the fun…"

"I'm fine with it!"

Hiccup just smiled wider and Toothless sent a teasing grin back at Astrid.

"Oh, just can it…."

xxx

Days went by and soon three weeks passed since the search party's departure. The tension in Berk was high but people were still fairly hopeful about the search party coming back. As said before, such expeditions would usually get held back by dragons, weather or problems with the boats. It was usually only after the 4th week mark that the search party not returning was considered worrisome. If it happened, usually a rescue party would be sent to look the missing ships up. But this time winter was already close and the ice in danger of setting in. if the ships did not return by next week the party will be labelled as missing.

Hiccup was not worried though; his father was with those ships. There was no better or braver fighter then him. No dragon would be able to finish him off. Maybe except for that giant one in the nest… no! His father was too stubborn to die anyway.

Hiccup turned his thoughts to the nearer impending troublesome situation; the up and coming graduation ceremony. It was costume to wait for the chief to return for the final test and so it was not likely that it'll happen before his father comes back. But if his dad will not be back within a week, the expedition will be labelled as missing and they will end they're waiting. If it came to it than he'll have to kill a dragon anyway, which meant that Hiccup's time limit was a week tops.

That left him one week to come out with a plan that will make sure he doesn't have to kill the dragon without it resulting in him being killed instead.

Astrid tried to help him think up a plan and would usually come to the cove and brainstorm the issue with him. So far, all of what they managed to come up with (which was not much to be honest) had very high chances of failing.

Today's afternoon was not much different; Astrid came to the cove and used Hiccup as a training du- a sparring partner, they would take a flight on their break with Toothless and stop to grab some lunch. At that point, a small green terror which they had finally named Sharpshot would come to cuddle with them by a fire and to steal whatever fish it could. When evening came they would sit down and talk strategy.

"Maybe we should rethink the one where you fake your death in the arena?" Astrid said with mock sarcasm as a result of being frustrated when they simply did not manage to think up a good enough plan.

"Yeah sure!" Hiccup faked enthusiasm "I'll fake my death, runaway with Toothless and never come back here again! Brilliant!"

"Oh, come on! Don't tell running away never crossed your mind?"

Hiccup chuckled uncomfortably. It did, and far more than once.

"So I take it you have no idea either, ha?" she asked defeated.

"No." he admitted "But I do have a lead…"

"Care to share?" she asked and noted darkly "it might even be practical this time around…"

'My sarcasm is rubbing off on her. I need to do something about it. Maybe…'

"Hiccup?"

"Umm yeah." Astrid brought Hiccup out of his la la land "so first I'm gonna need to enter the nightmare's cage when no one's watching and tame it."

xxx

Although Astrid was not completely fond of this new plan, she had to admit that it was probably their best chance…

Hiccup would tame the dragon while no one was there to intervene and then he will show the rest of the village that dragons can be befriended in the arena.

It all sounded nice and well on paper, but in reality… let's just say they didn't really think through this whole 'passing the guards and training the dragon without being noticed' part.

So now, after sending away the guards by saying she saw a flock of terrors nearby, Astrid was standing guard outside the arena, watching that nobody came while Hiccup was trying to work his magic on that monstrous nightmare.

XXX

Hiccup opened up the cage and could only hope for the dragon to be sleeping. Luckily it was.

If it wasn't, there would be a roar notifying the entire village. If that wouldn't do it than the flames would.

Making sure, again, that he had no weapon on his person and that the fish and dragonnip he had brought with him were still there, Hiccup took a deep breath and stepped into the nightmare's cage.

He checked that the dragon was really sleeping, and advanced deeper into the dark cell. He tried to keep as far away from the dragon as possible and finally managed to position himself in his desired, strategic spot- closer than the nightmare to the exit, yet backed up against a wall so that the dragon will feel that it has the upper hand. Or paw. 'So far so good.'

Letting a quiet "pssst" escape his lips, Hiccup watched as the dragon opened its eye-lids in a sudden movement and looked straight at him.

Knowing better than to upset the dragon, Hiccup set down on the floor and made himself as small and unthreatening as possible. He tightened his grip on the slippery salmon in his left hand, and slowly raised it, offering the raw fish to the suspecting dragon. The Monstrous nightmare sniffed the air, and only smelling fish, dragonnip and no metal, got up and started moving towards the human.

The nightmare moved slowly while letting a soft growl out its throat. Clawed wing after Clawed wing it inched closer, every so often pausing to sniff the air. When it reached close enough for Hiccup to feel its hot breath on his face, it stopped its soft rumble and stared.

Yellow eyes met green and Hiccup could see the already dilated pupils dilate even further, turning the slits so thin that the pupil was barely a sharp line. The dragon gave a final sniff and then, as fast as a shooting arrow, it snatched the fish right out of Hiccup's hand.

After that the dragonnip did the job. The nightmare simply walked straight to Hiccup, smelt dragonnip on his hand, and decided to nuzzle it. Soon Hiccup was scratching the red dragon and causing it to purr like a giant kitten.

Knowing that the guards outside might be back soon, Hiccup prepared himself to leave.

"That's a good boy" Hiccup whispered to the nightmare who seemed upset at not being scratched any longer. Hiccup just smiled at him and gave him a final scratch beneath the chin "I'll see you again" he promised and left the cell, closing it up.

Xxx

Hiccup found Astrid watching the bridge leading to the arena intently while trying not to be seen. Having a mischievous thought, he snuck behind her and breathed at her neck, saying with a thick Nordic accent "what do you think yer' doin' here lassy?"

Astrid screamed and nearly doubled over and then, realizing it was just Hiccup, looked back furious.

"Do you think that this it funny?!" she asked while trying to punch the life out of his arm, but in contradiction to her words and tone, she was wearing a broad smile. Hiccup was laughing too hard to protect himself or notice the pain in his arm.

After a few more punches Astrid shook her head and calmed down. "So how did it go?" she asked Hiccup who was still trying to suppress his laughter.

Finally managing himself, he answered with a grin "it went well. Seems like I have a new friend."

Astrid smiled back at him "all good then, it seems like we have nothing to worry about. No one's been around here but the guards can return any minute… so better if we go back to get some sleep then."

Starting to walk over the bridge Astrid suddenly stopped. "You know…" she said.

"Hmm?" Hiccup, who had also started to follow, hummed questionably.

"I think that today was the first time in a long while that I heard you really laugh. I…l like your laugh."

Hiccup just stood frozen as he watched her back getting smaller and smaller until she reached the town.

It was the first time he let himself laugh like that around people since he was a child. Other than when he was with Toothless that is. Hiccup smiled and felt his chest tighten with happiness. Tonight he hadn't made one new friend. He made two.

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**Thanks for reading and I hope you liked the chapter =) I'd love to hear all opinions and suggestions. Till next week!**

**N.S Wand**


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